Covering Door Skins With Leather

[Handstitched]

G'Day,

Has anyone tried covering  auto door skins with leather? I have a job of doing just that, for a vintage BMW  , and its one of 'those' jobs that seem to linger around the workshop ,  take up space, etc.  Theres 4 to do.  Whats putting me off is trying to cover the arm rest part of the  door skin. I have nice piece of black upholstery leather with a milled grain. Enough to do at least 3 skins. 

The originals were  heat pressed  rubber/vinyl . Yuk !! 

If it wasn't for the arm rest component , I'd have them done long ago , as the rest  of the skin is fairly straight forward.  Have a look at the pic and tell me what you think ??  With vinyl it can be heated up with heat gun, moulded, shaped  glued ...and thats it. 

I was thinking of making a separate arm  rest  component  out of fibre glass, ( I know fibre glass very well )   using the orig. as a template , and  cover that in leather, and then fit the covered piece over the orig ? 

The very  top section has another  separate piece  goes over the top, that I have already covered, piece of cake that was. 

thanks

HS

Edited July 12, 2022 by Handstitched

[fredk]

A long time ago, about 30 years ago, before I got into leatherwork I did some work with a place that did old commercial vehicle restorations. I remember the chap called in to do the door cards on the vans. He used canvas bags of wet sand to hold the leather or vinyl in place

The wet sand was in plastic bags, then a canvas or linen bag outer. afair the bags weighed about 10lbs each

The upholsterer glued the material on with time-drying contact adhesive. A modest size area at a time. He had various wooden tools to prod and push the material into place then he slapped a sand bag on top of it.

[chuck123wapati]

you may have to peruse the you tube. i have watched many really good videos on the subject. i was going to try it one time but ended up not getting to. 

 

[Handstitched]

23 hours ago, fredk said:

He used canvas bags of wet sand to hold the leather or vinyl in place

You know, I've been thinking about that since yesterday . That seems to be the only viable  idea that just may work .  Its that damn arm rest bit thats giving me the    s*^ts !! 

Apply adhesive to  just that section  of the leather and the arm rest...place leather onto armrest ,  poke, mold , ,shape, smooth  ...etc . and put sand bags on the corner sections  , let sit for 12 - 24 hrs or so . Next, carefully  glue the rest down ....bit by bit ..stretching , pulling, shaping...you know the drill. 

I always get the "good " jobs   

I have yet to check out youtoobaloovian . 

HS

[fredk]

You think thats a problem??

No.1 has about 600 steering wheels which he wants me to recover. Not as easy as it sounds. There are about 6 different styles, so different patterns, and the leather has to be sewn on in a certain way. Youtube doesn't help. I've been putting it off for about 7 years now and the number of steering wheels grows by nearly 80 per year

 

[chuck123wapati]

1 hour ago, Handstitched said:

 

I have yet to check out youtoobaloovian . 

HS

 you can spend hours and still not get your work done lol I'm stealing your new word.

[chuck123wapati]

1 hour ago, fredk said:

You think thats a problem??

No.1 has about 600 steering wheels which he wants me to recover. Not as easy as it sounds. There are about 6 different styles, so different patterns, and the leather has to be sewn on in a certain way. Youtube doesn't help. I've been putting it off for about 7 years now and the number of steering wheels grows by nearly 80 per year

 

that doesn't even sound fun.  driving gloves LOL

[Handstitched]

2 hours ago, fredk said:

You think thats a problem??

Its one of "those" jobs I just wish I never started or agreed to . It been hanging around for about 12-18 months. Floor 'real estate'  is at a prime as it is .  I'll try the sandbag idea. 

The 'herring bone'/ baseball '  stitch is quite common on steering wheels ?

1 hour ago, chuck123wapati said:

I'm stealing your new word.

You're very welcome friend    

HS

[fredk]

9 minutes ago, Handstitched said:

The 'herring bone'/ baseball '  stitch is quite common on steering wheels ?

yes it is, but on these s/w its three colours, a running stitch of one colour each on the sides of the join and the third colour in an X to pull the sides together via the two other threads

Sorry for the hijack

Back on topic; mind which glue you use; some contact glues can dissolve foam padding

[Handstitched]

On 7/12/2022 at 7:15 PM, fredk said:

The wet sand was in plastic bags, then a canvas or linen bag outer. afair the bags weighed about 10lbs each

I'm still 'stuck' on these 'feckin'  door skins .  I need extra days in my week...say another 3 or 4? Either that or I'll have to clone myself !!

 

( Off topic: I'm the chief cook & bottle washer atm , looking after two elderly parents...and doing  property maintenance ...AND trying to work in between...AND doing markets *sigh*  ) 

HS

[fredk]

6 hours ago, Handstitched said:

I'm still 'stuck' on these 'feckin'  door skins .  . . .

Don't feel bad about it. I've done nothing about those steering wheels. And I have a large number of BMW torches to rebuild as well (but that ain't leather)

[Handstitched]

18 hours ago, fredk said:

I've done nothing about those steering wheels.

I spoke to the customer just yesterday , he's actually a friend of mine. He's in a similar position to me , got so much on atm he's  not actively working on the vintage BMW anyway that these skins are for.*  But your earlier suggestion  of using sand bags is the way to go.  I also wondered if I should moisten the flesh side , put the bags in place around the arm rest ( without adhesive for the  time being) and hopefully the leather 'might'  take the shape of the arm rest as it dries, or just go for it ,  apply adhesive  and sand bag it and work my way out. 

If it was vinyl I was working with ( yuk spit spit !!  ) I would of had these done months ago . 

*I have two tractors to work on and get going ... real soon ,  so much on atm  , but no time.

HS

[rodp]

21 hours ago, fredk said:

Don't feel bad about it. I've done nothing about those steering wheels. And I have a large number of BMW torches to rebuild as well (but that ain't leather)

Just doing a steering wheel as we speak. It wasn't originally covered, just slippy rubbery foam stuff (Renault Master). So far it's stretched on and the top edge marked and cut, just the lower edge to do then take it off and sew around. It's time consuming to say the least, and just a little bit fiddly.

[RockyAussie]

Just a thought that may be worth a try......With out the leather get a large plastic garbage bag and put it over the whole door skin then with a vacuum cleaner suck out all the air you can looking to see if it is possible to get minimal creases. If it looks possible spray the black leather on the back and lay it over the door skin and push into shape as best you can by hand then repeat the vacuum process. Then place your sandbags or just plenty of sand all over for a couple of days to dry out. This should give you a formed shape to then glue down starting off at the armrest.

Edited September 10, 2022 by RockyAussie

[sbrownn]

On 9/8/2022 at 11:08 PM, Handstitched said:

I'm still 'stuck' on these 'feckin'  door skins .  I need extra days in my week...say another 3 or 4? Either that or I'll have to clone myself !!

 

( Off topic: I'm the chief cook & bottle washer atm , looking after two elderly parents...and doing  property maintenance ...AND trying to work in between...AND doing markets *sigh*  ) 

HS

Nothing like taking on a job you end up not wanting to do.  I'm sure almost all of us have been there, I know I have.

[Handstitched]

18 hours ago, sbrownn said:

Nothing like taking on a job you end up not wanting to do.  I'm sure almost all of us have been there, I know I have.

Its a case of  " can you do the job ?......o'h yeah, no worries mate  !!" 

Then its " O'h f**k , what have I agreed to ?? "  after the client has left the premises 

 All you want to do is throw  it in the 'too hard basket'  The financial incentives seem to take over (your head) or any logical thought .  But, I will use it as an experience to learn from .  The more I put it off, the more it hangs around my workshop....and the more  I keep moving it around to make space for other jobs. Best to get it done 

@RockyAussie 'With out the leather get a large plastic garbage bag and put it over the whole door skin then with a vacuum cleaner suck out all the air you can looking to see if it is possible to get minimal creases.' 

Thats a good idea. If all else fails, might give that a try . Thanks   

HS

Edited September 11, 2022 by Handstitched

[fredk]

1 hour ago, Handstitched said:

Its a case of  " can you do the job ?......o'h yeah, no worries mate  !!" 

Then its " O'h f**k , what have I agreed to ?? "  after the client has left the premises 

yup,  only with me its No.1 son as the 'client'.

Every so often he says 'when are you going to start on my steering wheels?' He's lost count of how many he needs doing but he reckons he has got rid of about 150 of very bad ones. So its still about 500 s/wheels need doing.

My problems are there are about 4 or 5 different styles and a pattern needs making for each and I just cannot get that pattern right

And I bought in three sewing machines to do them. Actually need only one but I bought one, gave it to someone to use on these, that person disappeared, so I bought another machine for another person and that person buggered off as well. I'd lost 2 machines, so I bought a third and within months I got the first two machines back

 

[Jama]

On 7/12/2022 at 4:36 AM, Handstitched said:

G'Day,

Has anyone tried covering  auto door skins with leather? I have a job of doing just that, for a vintage BMW  , and its one of 'those' jobs that seem to linger around the workshop ,  take up space, etc.  Theres 4 to do.  Whats putting me off is trying to cover the arm rest part of the  door skin. I have nice piece of black upholstery leather with a milled grain. Enough to do at least 3 skins. 

The originals were  heat pressed  rubber/vinyl . Yuk !! 

If it wasn't for the arm rest component , I'd have them done long ago , as the rest  of the skin is fairly straight forward.  Have a look at the pic and tell me what you think ??  With vinyl it can be heated up with heat gun, moulded, shaped  glued ...and thats it. 

I was thinking of making a separate arm  rest  component  out of fibre glass, ( I know fibre glass very well )   using the orig. as a template , and  cover that in leather, and then fit the covered piece over the orig ? 

The very  top section has another  separate piece  goes over the top, that I have already covered, piece of cake that was. 

thanks

HS

Leather is your friend when doing door panels, because of its characteristic stretch, but here are a few  things that will help with both your panel and those steering wheels;

1. Hide stretches ACROSS from leg to leg much more than it does head to tail, so lay out your pattern pieces according to the direction you need the stretch in. If you're working with scraps, tug until you find the right direction for optimum stretch and then mark the scrap with chalk going in that direction so you can orient your pattern right.

2. Parabond glue is the best. Often there is glue residue, foam remnants and stuff left after peeling the old upholstery off of door panels, and those leftovers can cause an incompatibility where nothing will stick properly.  Parabond makes both a good cleaner and a bonding agent. It works fantastic on leather, especially if you spray it on with a paint pot. Both the panel and the cover get a coat of glue, you then let it tack up until it no longer feels sticky to the touch. Then you can reposition it a little before burnishing with a tuck tool to get a tight bond. I've used waxed paper under the edges, and I usually start with the deepest contour in the center, work it out to the edges.  

3. Put a decorative seam on the highest contour, either double needle, felled or with a color band sewn in, to help shape the sewn hide pieces to the contours. Use Bias tape and a tight stitch, trim the selvage after stitching, glue the bias tape.

4. Schive the edges where you fold so you get a neat, tight fold without the bulk. I use a razor blade, but I'm old and I've been doing this forever. It helps if you plan the junctions between the armrest cover and the main panel and create some kind of a cosmetic treatment. (On newer cars they give you a rut to tuck the edge in, and often the armrest is a separate panel that you can remove if you grind off the heads of plastic-weld pegs) 

5. Schiving is really important on steering wheels where you don't want any raw edges. The cut direction is the most important consideration, as you have to have that stretch going around the outside of the wheel, and in the center of the sections of cover. I actually enjoy doing them, but then I also enjoy banging my head on iron railings occasionally. Hubby is the plastic door panel king at Crush Customs, and a certified Katzkin Leather installer. I build street rod panels and do the old school stuff. Together we have probably done five thousand sets of door panels, but we learn something new every once in a while...you can never know everything!  I hope these little tips help you.

[Handstitched]

Thanks for that   Every little bit helps . I'll be paying attention to the 'stretch' .  If the arm rest was a  separate bolt on piece, I would have had them all finished yonks ago. 

HS